A deep purr vibrated the large warm body curled up in her lap, Crookshanks was fast asleep as she absentmindedly stroked from the top of his head to the tip of his ginger tail in long slow caresses. If she tried to stop he would wake up and nip at her fingers until she started again. Hermione was supposed to be enjoying the newest episode of her mother's favorite drama but couldn't concentrate on the figures moving on the screen, much less keep up with the twisted plot.

Her father was doing a crossword by the light of a single lamp. Lounging in his favorite chair, he would lose focus on occasion and get caught up in a particularly tense scene that played out onscreen. The wrinkles around his dark russet eyes deepened whenever he found a reaction far-fetched. Which was often, but after more than twenty-five years of marriage he knew not to poke holes in his wife's guilty pleasure.

Every time she caught the ordinary familial dynamic her thoughts would start spinning in an obsessive cycle… Starting with how cute her parents were and somehow always ending on if Draco was still alright. It felt like an eternity since his letter had arrived, offering flamboyant but ultimately hollow reassurances that meant nothing when everything could change in the blink of an eye.

She felt the all too familiar tug of guilt for being relieved that they would be returning to the safety of the castle in two days time. And yet, she longed to feel like she could breathe again. The heavy weight of worry that had settled on her chest as the hours ticked by had turned into unbearable mass that wouldn't relent... No matter how many times she cast a Muffliato Charm and screamed herself hoarse. Only to repair the damage done to her vocal cords with a cup of magically-infused lemon tea…

The sudden gasp from Hermione's right had her pulling her wand from where she had tucked it under the blanket she shared with her mother. In automatic response, her eyes wildly scanned the room for the danger. The tip of her wand followed closely behind, a body-binding hex ready on her lips.

"Oh! Oh dear!" Her mother stammered, alarmed by the unanticipated reaction. "...Sarah... isn't going to forgive Geraldine after that…"

Both of her parents stared at her as if she had grown a second head and she quickly lowered her wand with a shaky hand, attempting to sell a light-hearted chuckle that sounded more like a choked off whimper than anything. "Right… Sarah… Geraldine…"

Crookshanks gave a giant annoyed huff before he jumped down, making sure to dig his back claws into her thighs for good measure, and sauntered from the dimly lit room. Heading off to find a quiet nook to continue his rudely interrupted nap before his nightly prowling began.

His distraction gave her time to slide her wand back into its hiding place and look preoccupied with the preformed hysteria taking place on the television. She could feel when both sets of her parents' eyes moved back to her, assessing her outburst and current frame of mind.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Her mother asked, her eyes still wide in shock.

"Of course, just a tad bit jumpy is all." Hermione gave a reluctant smile as she confessed. "Bad dreams last night."

"I thought those potions were supposed to help with that…" Her father inquired, his eyebrows furrowing in concern.

She turned towards him, looking him in the eye as she lied. "They do! I just forgot to take it."

They both seemed lost in thought for a moment. Undoubtedly, thinking back to how bad she had gotten last summer, before the summons to the Burrow had come in the mail. The only reason they had been permitted the visit was they knew she would be at a place where she was forced to function. None of the Weasleys would allow her to wallow in her melancholia day after day, there was too much to be done for any of that nonsense…

Her father harrumphed, clearly not convinced. While her mother reached over and placed a hand over hers, "We could always go back to those healers…"

"No! It is fine! I… I needed to rewrite a section on one of my essays and by the time I was done it was much too late to take. I didn't want to feel drowsy today, I swear." She looked back and forth between her parents, hoping it was enough to placate them. A trip to St. Mungo's was out of the question.

"If you think that is best."

The apprehensive glance that passed between the pair left little doubt that she had failed. Hermione wished that she was able to tell them everything but she couldn't risk the confession. If Death Eaters ever managed to overpower the round the clock guard and kidnapped them… The less they knew about any important details pertaining to her life the better. Their deaths would be quicker that way.

"I do." She stressed, "I'm better than I was. You both know that from Christmas."

Her mother's grip on her limp hand tightened as the woman carefully hedged, "Yes, but… So much has changed since then, hasn't it?"

"What… What do you mean?" She barely got out around her bafflement. How was it possible that they knew? Had Dumbledore betrayed her confidence to warn her parents of her dodgy task? Surely not?

"The upticks in attacks and deaths? The sudden public changes in political ties being announced constantly? Come now, Hermione... We certainly can see a coup in the making when it is right in front of our faces." Her father spoke up again, filling in the answer as if they were discussing their plans for the next day.

"I… How?"

"Your father has been getting The Prophet delivered every morning all year…" Her mother explained. There was an obvious pride etched into her face as she gazed over at his profile. "We couldn't send you back there without having some idea of what was going on."

She cleared the laugh of relief from her throat. It probably wasn't the time to start giggling. Not when they already wondered if she needed professional help. "Okay…"

"So…"

They had obviously come to the difficult part of the conversation and her mother looked to her father for support. He gave her a small reassuring smile and took control, "So, it is prudent that we ask if you can guarantee your well-being if you return to Hogwarts?"

Hermione pulled her hand from her mother's grasp and started to rub her temples, trying to give herself time to come up with something reassuring to say. She couldn't guarantee anything anymore. "It's… It's the most secure place in all of Europe for someone… Like me."

"Then we should leave… Tomorrow!" Her mother cut in.

"T...Tomorrow? Mum… Think about what you are saying."

"You are right! Why wait until tomorrow? We could go right this moment!"

"Daddy, please talk some sense into her!" Hermione pleaded. "I cannot just up and leave. I… I have responsibilities."

"Your responsibility is to survive…" Her father's tone was resigned, as if he was reading from a script that they had practiced.

"I have to finish my studies and… and… I have friends who need me!" She was nearly shouting, afraid of how far the hypothetical conversation would go. Technically she was an adult. They had no power to make her go along with their short-sided idea, just like they could not force her to check in with the healers at Mungo's. "Besides, where would we go on such short notice?"

Once again her mother looked to her father for guidance but he kept a straight face and nodded his approval for whatever was next. She reached for Hermione's hand again and was quickly rebuffed before answering. "Well, we were thinking of Australia."

"AUSTRALIA?!"

"You have always wanted to see the koalas…"

"And you both have lost your damn minds!" Hermione yelled as she jumped up, throwing her part of the blanket roughly behind her. "Koalas… Honestly!"

-/\- -/\- -/\- -/\- -/\- -/\- -/\- -/\- -/\- -/\-

Later that night she laid curled up on her side in bed while she continued to avoid her parents. She had excused herself after the bombshell that they wanted to flee to the freaking Outback, of all places, reluctant to completely lose her temper when they were worried over her mental state. They had returned the favor, giving her time to consider their absurd offer.

It was late, well past midnight, when her mother rapped lightly on her door. Hermione was surprised that she was still able to tell the difference in her parent's knocks. As much as she hated to admit the truth, being away had made her feel out of sync in her own home. Some things never changed though and their knocks were one of them.

Her father's was exactly like how he spoke. Always concise, a few hard taps with a single knuckle to let the person know he was there. While her mother's was more rapid but faint, like she was afraid to interrupt and wanted to get the deed over with as quickly as possible.

"Come in." Hermione mumbled to the wall that she had been staring at for the last hour. The faded white door of her childhood was inched open when she looked over her shoulder and saw her mother's head slip hesitantly into the space.

"Is it okay if we talked before bed?"

"Yes…"

She didn't expand as she turned back towards the wall, but shifted so there was enough room for the older woman to join her on the bed.

It took a few moments for her mother to make her way over and sit down. Another long pause engulfed them as they waited to see who would be the first to break the tense silence. Hermione even ground her teeth together to keep the sarcastic inquiries she had thought up over the hours from pouring out.

"I understand why you are angry, honey, but…" Her mother started.

"There is no but, you and Daddy want me to run half way across the world." She interrupted, glaring at a particular spot of paint that had dried darker than the surrounding robin's egg blue.

"We want to keep you safe! There have already been two students who have gotten hurt this year..." The distraught explanation from her mother continued. "And after all of the times you have come home having been turned into a statue or nearly eaten by a werewolf or cursed with some incurable affliction; you expect us to trust that place?"

Hermione sighed loudly as memories of all the dangerous shenanigans she had gotten into with Harry, Ron and company over the years bubbled to the surface of her mind. She couldn't fault her parents for being protective. That is what they were supposed to do after all… But the recurring thought that kept her anger from dissipating slipped from her lips.

"I expect you to trust me!"

A look of shock had settled on her mother's face when she finally looked back over her shoulder. The other woman started to wring her hands together in a nervous gesture. "We do!"

"How can you say that when you are sneaking behind my back and talking about us leaving?!" She asked. Her voice started to spike again, the mixture of her anger and anxiety over the suggestion was evident.

Her mother sighed heavily before choosing her next words carefully. "Hermione, we were not sneaking around behind your back. If we were, you wouldn't have been invited to join the conversation. We both want your input."

"Then give me your blessing to go back and finish out the year. I will go wherever you and Daddy would like after that." Hermione lied. Bile burned at the back of her throat as the truth of what she had planned for the coming summer hit her.

"...If you think that is best." Her mother repeated her earlier doubtful sentiment.

She nodded so quickly that a chunk of curls fell into her face, which she promptly pushed away. "I do and I also think that Australia is the wrong move. They have a simple deportation process for wizarding criminals. We… I would be safer somewhere like South Africa, they would be more likely to listen to any plea for asylum. If it came to that."

Better for any paper trail her parents left to lead Voldemort's henchmen on a wild goose chase. There was no reason to chance their welfare because they didn't know any better than to play by muggle rules. Even if they forged new identities for them all, there would be someone out there who knew too much.

Another loaded sigh lifted her mother's shoulders as she reached over and patted Hermione's hip reassuringly. "You are so much like your namesake, sweetheart. You are beautiful. You are strong. You are caring. The perfect daughter, really."

A blush started to tinge her cheeks at the flowing compliments and she went to say thank you, but her mother stood and made her way over to the door before she continued somberly. "Just… Don't let our presumptuous decision become a prophecy. There is no reason to sacrifice yourself to save that boy."

Taken aback for a second, the illogical thought that her parents somehow knew about her secret relationship once again surfaced, then fell away at the realization that the woman meant Harry. Hermione wanted to argue that he was the only one who might be able to save them all but she just nodded instead . "I know."

"I do hope so."

She swallowed hard as she watched a momentary look of distress flash in her mother's eyes. "I promise. I will make it home."

"I love you, Hermione. You should get some sleep. You have a big day of packing tomorrow." The normal parental instruction was choked at the end. As if the vocalized admission of her return to school was too painful to physically ignore.

"I love you too." She whispered as her mother turned off her light and closed the door softly behind her.

Hermione turned back towards the wall and stared into the darkness. No longer able to distinguish where the spot she had been studying was. The desperation of her parents weighed heavily on her heart and she was thankful they wouldn't have to suffer with uncertainty much longer.

In a few short months they would no longer remember they even had a daughter.

Much less a perfect one…